Mike Leavitt

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Mike Leavitt is the founder and chairman of Leavitt Partners where he helps clients navigate the future as they transition to new and better models of care. In previous roles, Mike served in the Cabinet of President George W. Bush (as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and Secretary of Health and Human Services) and as a three-time elected governor of Utah.

Mike grew up in Cedar City, Utah, where his upbringing was rooted in the values of the American West, with its emphasis on hard work and common sense. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business while working in the insurance industry. In 1984, he became chief executive of The Leavitt Group, a family business that is now the nation’s second largest, privately held insurance brokerage.

In 1993, Mike was elected governor of Utah. He served three terms (1993-2003). In 2003, he joined the Cabinet of President George W. Bush, serving in two positions: first as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (2003-2005) and then as secretary of Health and Human Services (2005-2009). At HHS, he administered a $750 billion budget — nearly 25 percent of the entire federal budget — and 67,000 employees.

He led the implementation of the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program. The task required the design, systematization, and implementation of a plan to provide 43 million seniors with a new prescription drug benefit. By the end of the first year, enrollments exceeded projections, prices were lower than projected, and seniors expressed high levels of satisfaction.

Mike’s strategic ability can be seen in his redesign of the nation’s system of quality and safety standards for imported goods. In the spring of 2006, President Bush assigned him to lead a government-wide response. Within months, he commended a major strategic shift in U.S. policy on import regulation and trade.

A pattern of innovation runs throughout Mike’s career. When he was elected governor, Utah’s major freeway system was dangerously inadequate. Taking what some thought was a significant political and financial risk, Mike instigated a design-build system, creating cost and quality incentives between the state and its contractors. The project was finished in half the originally projected time and well under budget.

Mike is, at heart, an entrepreneur. As governor, he organized a group of his colleagues to form Western Governors University. At WGU, degrees are earned based on competency rather than credit hours. WGU now has more than 60,000 students who reside in each of the 50 states and several foreign countries. Enrollment is growing at 35 percent a year. In November 2008, TIME magazine named WGU “the best relatively cheap university you’ve never heard of.”

Collaborator is a word that comes up repeatedly when one examines Mike’s background. His skill led his colleague governors to elect him as chairman of the National Governors Association, the Republican Governors Association and Western Governors’ Association. His book—Finding Allies, Building Alliances—was released in September 2013 by Jossey-Bass Publishers and chronicles his expertise and passion for collaboration.

Mike is a seasoned diplomat, leading U.S. delegations to more than 50 countries. He has conducted negotiations on matters related to health, the environment, and trade. At the conclusion of his service, the Chinese government awarded him the China Public Health Award – the first time this award has ever been given to a foreign government official.

Rich McKeown

Expertise

Rich McKeown is the CEO of Leavitt Partners. He co-founded Leavitt Partners with former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, EPA Administrator, and Governor, Mike Leavitt. Rich leads a group of experienced professionals who help their clients understand and navigate value-driven health care.

In previous roles he served as chief of staff for Mike Leavitt at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). At HHS, he directed and coordinated the activities of the largest department in the federal government, serving as the Secretary’s day-to-day manager for a department that employed 67,000 people and had an annual budget in excess of $840 billion. He also led the negotiations between China and the FDA regarding Drug, Device and Food issues which led to landmark agreements in 2008 and paved the way for the placement of US-FDA offices around the world. From November 2003 until January 2005, Rich served as senior counselor and chief of staff to Administrator Leavitt at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Prior to his public service in Washington, D.C., Rich served as chief of staff to Governor Mike Leavitt and as commissioner of the Utah State Tax Commission. His background is as a private practice lawyer and educator. Rich received his juris doctorate from the University of Utah and bachelor’s degree from Ohio University.

Andrew Croshaw

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Andrew Croshaw is president of Leavitt Partners Consulting where he oversees the delivery of consulting services to clients across the country. In this role, Andrew also advises clients as they enter new markets, enhance the value of their products, and navigate dynamic regulatory and reimbursement systems.

Previously, Andrew served as a senior executive advisor to Secretary Michael O. Leavitt at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services where he managed the overall implementation of a signature department initiative to improve the connectivity, transparency, and value of America’s health care system. Prior to serving in the federal government, Andrew worked at Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation and Eli Lilly and Company where he provided leadership for the corporate Medicare and Medicaid business segments.

Andrew earned a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University, where he pursued interests in health care innovation and leadership.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Brett led the operations and played a key role in the sale of a regional administrator of self-funded benefit plans to Meritain Health.

Following the transaction, he led the post-merger integration and was a member of Meritain’s strategy team. Before his time at Meritain Health, he worked as a vice president at UnitedHealth Group within the Ingenix business unit. Brett joined the business development and strategic planning team and was responsible for conducting analysis on acquisitions and strategic partnerships during a period of hyper-growth. Mr. Graham moved to operations and was the business leader for Ingenix’s pricing databases where he was responsible for working with large payers to aggregate and analyze claims data. In a previous role, Brett served as a management consultant with the Boston Consulting Group where he worked with senior business leaders to develop growth strategies for Fortune 100 clients.

Brett holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Harvard Business School and a master’s of public administration and a bachelor’s in accounting from the University of Utah.

Taylor Leavitt

President, Leavitt Equity Partners

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Taylor Leavitt is president of Leavitt Equity Partners, an affiliated value-add private equity fund that seeks to invest capital into growth and lower mid-market opportunities that align with the firm’s core beliefs about the future of health care. Taylor also leads the Leavitt Partners Equity Practice which directs the management of the firm’s portfolio holdings, due diligence processes, and relationships with other private equity funds and financial institutions.

Taylor has led the firm’s equity and investment activities since inception, which include equity positions in more than a dozen companies, including HealthEquity, Independent Living Systems, Health Integrated, Cogent Healthcare, RSA Medical, and others.

In 2014, Taylor led the effort of launching Leavitt Equity Partners and successfully raised its first $100 million fund. LEP has made investments into growing health care companies in health information technology, value-based care, pharmacy services, population analytics, health diagnostics and rural medicine.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Taylor worked for ZARS Pharma, a venture capital-funded pharmaceutical company engaged in corporate licensing and business development operations. While at ZARS, Taylor identified, negotiated, and executed strategic corporate transactions on a global basis, including merger and acquisitions, national and international product licenses, IP and technology licenses, and R&D alliances. Prior to ZARS Pharma, Taylor was a founding employee for the Park City Center for Public Policy. In other capacities, Taylor has worked with Epic Venture Capital, SAIC, and Keystone Global Investment LLC.

Taylor received a master’s degree in business administration from the UCLA Anderson School of Business with an emphasis in private equity and entrepreneurship. He graduated magna cum laude from Utah State University studying finance, economics, and international business.

Craig Omer

Craig worked for 36 years as an auditing and accounting services professional, primarily at KPMG where he served as Managing Partner of the firm’s Salt Lake City office from 1997 to 2009. He has provided services to a variety of publicly traded and privately held companies, performing auditing, financial reporting, and Securities and Exchange Commission compliance services. Currently, he serves on the board of directors for Savage Companies and CRS Engineering.

His professional and civic activities include having served as Board Chairman of Junior Achievement of Utah, Board Treasurer of Habitat for Humanity, Board Treasurer of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, President of the Utah Association of Certified Public Accountants, member of the Brigham Young University and Weber State University National School of Accountancy Advisory Boards, member of the Utah Association of Certified Public Accountants, member of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce Board of Trustees and Executive Committee, and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Governing Council.

Craig graduated from University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Susan Winckler

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Susan Winckler is the chief risk management officer for Leavitt Partners as well as a lead contributor in the firm’s alliance management and regulatory consulting activities. A pharmacist and attorney by training, Susan is the former chief of the staff for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and former president and CEO of the Food and Drug Law Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., which provides a marketplace for discussing food and drug law issues through conferences, publications, and member interaction.

At the FDA, Susan provided integrated policy analysis and strategic consultation to the Commissioner and senior FDA officials on significant agency issues and programs, serving as the agency’s principal liaison with HHS. Ms. Winckler led the operations of the Office of Legislation (until April 2009), the Office of External Relations, Office of Public Affairs, and Office of the Executive Secretariat. She joined the FDA in September 2006 as the Director, Policy Communications, in the Office of Policy and Planning within the Office of the Commissioner, where she served as a point person for constituent communications and policy development on key issues. Immediately prior to joining the FDA, Susan served as the vice president for policy and communications and staff counsel for the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the national professional society of pharmacists, serving as the senior lobbyist for the Association on Capitol Hill. Previous positions with the Association include group director of policy and advocacy, director of policy and legislation, director of practice affairs, and manager of special projects.

Susan is a graduate of the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy and the Georgetown University Law Center, magna cum laude. She is a Fellow of the American Pharmacists Association, a Distinguished Alumna of the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, delivered the William A. Zellmer Lecture for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and named as Distinguished Young Alumna of the University of Iowa Foundation. She was elected a Trustee of the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) for the 2015-2020 term, elected a Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy to the National Academies of Practice, Pharmacy Academy, and named a Woman of Distinction by Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity.

David Smith

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David is the Chief Development Officer for Leavitt Partners Consulting where he is responsible for expanding the firm’s influence in the health care market. Since joining Leavitt Partners, David has advised clients in areas of government activity, insurance market reforms, economic changes to the health care payment system, and alliances. He specifically helped establish the Private Exchange Coalition and has led multiple other collaboratives that aggregate parties with common interests to achieve statutory, regulatory, or market objectives. David also established and expanded Leavitt Partners Chicago operation.

7David has a masters of statistics with an emphasis in econometrics from the University of Utah. He also served on the Utah State Board of Regents, where he shared some collective stewardship over Utah’s publicly funded institutions of higher education.

Vince brings with him more than two decades of congressional and health policy experience.

In previous roles, Vince was the assistant secretary for legislation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In this capacity he served as the department’s liaison to Congress and as the Secretary’s chief advisor on all legislative matters affecting the department. Prior to his time at HHS, Vince served on the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee as Health Policy Director of the Chairman´s Health Policy Team. In 2005, he moved with Chairman Gregg to serve as policy director for the Senate Budget Committee, where he also worked on entitlement programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and welfare.

From 1998 to 2001, Vince served as director of the Government Affairs Office for Medtronic, Inc., the world´s leading medical technology company. Before joining Medtronic, Vince a held a variety of health policy positions on Capitol Hill, serving as counsel to the United States Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee for Senator Dan Coats of Indiana. He previously worked with the committee on health issues from 1985 to 1988.

Vince graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and holds a juris doctorate from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Adam Toronto

Chief Operating Officer

Adam Toronto is chief operating officer for Leavitt Partners and its affiliated businesses. He is based in Salt Lake City, where he leads enterprise-wide operations including general management, human resources, information systems, and operational expansion initiatives.

Adam joined Leavitt Partners after serving as Deputy Director of Advance for Secretary Mike Leavitt at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In that role, he managed domestic and international Secretarial travel campaigns for departmental initiatives such as Value Driven Health Care, Import Safety, Electronic Health Records and Health Diplomacy. He was also part of a cabinet-wide team that organized two rounds of the Strategic Economic Dialogue between the U.S. and China, involving 10 U.S. Cabinet members and Chinese counterparts.

Adam also served in the Office of the Chief of Staff at HHS, under Rich McKeown. He supported Rich in overseeing public policy and operational aspects of the largest civilian department of the federal government with a staff of 67,000 and a budget of $750 billion.

Adam received his master’s degree in business administration and bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from University of Utah.

Robin Arnold-Williams

Expertise

Robin Arnold-Williams is a principal at Leavitt Partners Salt Lake City office and Western Region and directs Leavitt Partners’ Medicaid practice. With knowledge gained over a 32-year career in public service, Robin helps clients navigate complex regulatory issues and refine their business practices to maximize value.

Robin has over a decade of experience leading large state-level health and human service agencies. In her most recent role, Robin served, for the second time, as Secretary of the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (2012-2013). She also held this post from 2005 to 2008. She was responsible for administering a wide range of programs including Medicaid, aging and disability services, behavioral health, finance, technology, and regulatory functions.

Robin has also served as executive policy director for Gov. Chris Gregoire in the state of Washington. In this role she led the governor’s government reform initiatives resulting in reducing the size of state government, enhancing customer service, and streamlining service delivery. She also led efforts to position the state to implement national health reform, including creating a health care cabinet and consolidating state health care purchasing. Robin also served in Gov. Mike Leavitt’s Cabinet as director of the Utah State Department of Human Services from 1997 through 2004. Robin holds a master’s and doctoral degree in social work and a graduate certificate in gerontology from the University of Utah.

Previously, Lauren advised the CEO and served as corporate director of Oxford Health Plans. She led Oxford’s Medicare Advantage plan over a period of time when membership grew from 80,000 to 150,000 insured. She oversaw the management of the Medicare product group, interfacing with marketing, operations, and medical management, and was responsible for regulatory compliance. Prior to Oxford, Lauren served at Beth Israel Hospital as the administrator for its cardiology unit. She also served in the White House on the policy staff for the Task Force on National Health Reform, as proposed by the administration of President Bill Clinton. She supported the “Long Term Care” and “Transition to the New System” working groups.

She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and her master’s in public health from Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University.

Ralph Hall

Expertise

Ralph Hall is a principal and works in association with the Washington, D.C., office. In this role, Ralph provides consulting services to clients in the areas of FDA statutes and regulations, regulatory compliance, as well as health care policy and legislation, and particularly the application of those regulatory systems to the medical device industry.

Ralph’s rich background with drug and medical device regulation and corporate compliance matters makes him one of the nation’s foremost experts. Ralph retains an affiliation with Faegre Baker Daniels where he provides legal services, including FDA-related matters, corporate compliance, the design and implementation of multiple cross-disciplinary, corporate legal strategies, corporate law department organization and management, and general corporate counseling. Ralph has served in a succession of high-level positions with Guidant Corporation and Eli Lilly and Company.

Ralph furthermore serves as a Professor of Practice at the University of Minnesota Law School. He received his B.A. from Indiana University and his juris doctorate from the University of Michigan where he was a Weymouth Kirkland Scholar.

Jeff Micklos

Executive Director of the Health Care Transformation Task Force

Jeff Micklos is the Executive Director of the Health Care Transformation Task Force, an industry consortium of patients, payers, providers, and purchasers committed to rapid, measurable change by having 75 percent of their businesses operating under value-based payment arrangements by 2020. In directing the Task Force, Jeff is supported by the Leavitt Partners team

An attorney by training, Jeff is the former Executive Vice President, Management, Compliance, & General Counsel of the Federation of American Hospitals, a national trade association representing investor-owned hospitals, and a former partner in the Health Law Department of the international law firm of Foley & Lardner LLP. Jeff began his career as a litigator and regulatory lawyer in the Office of General Counsel, Health Care Financing Division, Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he defended and advised the secretary on a wide range of Medicare and Medicaid issues. He also served in the Office of General Counsel, Social Security Administration.

Jeff received a juris doctorate from the Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America, and a bachelor’s degree from Villanova University. He is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia and is a member of the bars of the United States Circuit of Appeals for the D.C. and 9th Circuits.

David Muhlestein

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David Muhlestein, PhD, JD, is the senior director of research and development based in Salt Lake City. He directs the study of accountable care organizations through the LP Center for Accountable Care Intelligence and leads the firm’s quantitative evaluation of health care markets. He is an expert in using policy analysis, predictive modeling, and applied analytics to understand the evolving health care landscape.

David also serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor of The Dartmouth Institute (TDI) at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College and is a visiting fellow at the Accountable Care Learning Collaborative. In both of these roles he conducts research to translate learnings of high-performing organizations for the benefit of the broader health care system.

David earned his doctorate in health services management and policy, JD, MHA, and MS from The Ohio State University, and a BA from Brigham Young University.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Clay served as Chief Health Counsel for Chairman Fred Upton of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee. During seven years with the committee, he managed, provided strategic direction, and served as the principal representative for the committee on all of its health care-related work. Clay spearheaded legislative initiatives that successfully reformed the SGR (MACRA), reauthorized FDA user fees (FDASIA), and established a national system for drug supply chain security (Drug Quality and Security Act). Clay also led the committee’s legislative accomplishments on biopreparedness and security, public and private medical research, controlled substance and DEA matters, and several other public health initiatives. Most recently, Clay led the committee’s work on the 21st Century Cures Act.

Prior to this service for the committee, Clay clerked for the Honorable Ronald L. Buckwalter of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and worked as a litigator in private law practice. He also worked as a legislative clerk at the committee from 1999 to 2000 under Chairman Thomas J. Bliley (R-VA).

Clay received his bachelors of arts cum laude from the University of Richmond and holds a juris doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin.

Ryan Howells

Principal

Ryan Howells is a principal based out of the Chicago office. His work with clients is focused on health insurance market reforms, disruptive distribution channels that have occurred through the emergence of public and private exchanges, and how the implementation of technology can improve the triple aim of reducing costs, increasing quality, and improving outcomes. He is also currently the executive director of the Private Exchange Coalition (PEC).

Over his career, Ryan has worked in multiple consulting organizations helping national and regional health plans, state and federal government organizations, HIT companies, and delivery systems solve complex problems. Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Ryan was a vice president and general manager at Connecture, Inc., an industry leader in both public and private exchanges. During his tenure, he managed a multi-million dollar P&L, oversaw 400% growth in less than three years, and was involved in Connecture’s IPO in late 2014. He previously spent eight years at iHealth Technologies (now Cotiviti Healthcare) overseeing the implementation of payment integrity and fraud, waste, and abuse solutions for CMS and carriers.

Ryan received his master’s in health administration from the University of Southern California where he was a Dean’s Merit Scholar and has a bachelor’s degree in English from Brigham Young University. He is a Project Management Professional (PMP).

Professional staff

Alex Anderson

Analyst

Alex Anderson is an analyst based in Salt Lake City. As an analyst, Alex works with the Research and Development team to provide strategic intelligence on the accountable care movement for clients. He also contributes to overall business development projects.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Alex was a business analyst with Beechwood Reinsurance, where he researched and analyzed private investment opportunities. He also previously developed business tools, identified inefficiencies and payment lags impacting company cash flows, and improved revenue quality by analyzing receivables and key attributes to carry out regressions as a statistics analyst at Cogent Works.

Alex received a bachelor of arts in economics with a minor in Spanish from Brigham Young University.

Julia Bennion

Coordinator

Julia Bennion is a travel coordinator based in Salt Lake City. As a travel coordinator, Julia is responsible for arranging business-related travel and expenses for the Salt Lake City, Chicago and D.C. offices. She also assists internal staff with planning, scheduling, and information management.

Jonathan Blackham

Business Information Systems Specialist

Jonathan Blackham is a business information systems specialist based in Salt Lake City. In this role, Jonathan supports the infrastructure of the Leavitt Partners and manages the operation and integration of internal systems.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Jonathan was a process specialist. As a process specialist, he created a robust data system to track and correct process deficiencies and developed metrics, workflows, and permission sets.

Jonathan has a bachelor’s degree in business management from Brigham Young University.

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Austin coordinates a team of researchers that monitor the changing landscape of insurance distribution and consumer-driven market principles. Austin assists clients with consumer and market trend analysis, value proposition refinement, and market positioning strategies. Austin has sub-specialty training in a variety of settings, with prior work experience in hospital operations, clinical research, and managed care. Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Austin was engaged in an administrative internship with Health First, Inc., an integrated care organization in Florida, and was involved in the policy analysis of a Medicaid managed care bill and creating the project charter for a new Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) policy.

Austin received his master’s degree in health care administration and a bachelor’s degree in health sciences from University of Florida.

Natalie Burton

Project Manager

Natalie Burton is a project manager based in Salt Lake City. As a project manager, Natalie conducts quantitative research evaluating various components of the American health care system for government agencies, policymakers, and industry participants. She also manages long-term research projects and works closely with client managers to design, implement, and deliver research projects to clients.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Natalie was the owner of Elder Allies, a company that provided non-medical personal in-home care for aging seniors. She also worked for UnitedHealth Group for nearly 10 years where she gained valuable in-depth experience in public sector markets, with a focus on Medicare and Medicaid.

Natalie earned both a master’s of business administration and a master’s of health sector management from Arizona State University and has a bachelor’s of science from Brigham Young University.

William Caughey

Senior Analyst

William Caughey is a senior analyst based in Salt Lake City. In this role, William performs a variety of data management-related tasks for clients and provides data support for the firm’s study of accountable care growth.

Previously, William was a study coordinator/research assistant with the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, where he provided data analysis using various statistical methods ranging from simple descriptive analysis to complex distribution analysis in various research settings, and managed the day-to-day operations of studies being conducted. As a research assistant at Arizona State University’s Center for Health Information Research, he developed various data sets for clients from claims data using informatics and data-matching procedures, and analyzed and reported factors that affected physician use and adoption of EHRs.

William earned a bachelor of science in mathematics and a master of statistics from the University of Utah where he focused on categorical data analysis and survey statistics.

Daniel Chipping

Expertise

Daniel Chipping is a manager based in Salt Lake City. As a manager, Daniel supports the activities and output of workgroups from representatives of various companies for the Accountable Care Learning Collaborative (ACLC), which brings ACO leaders together to advance the transition to value-based care. He also provides intelligence to ACLC members and Leavitt Partners clients by gathering data on the accountable care movement and the changing health care landscape through secondary research, surveys, and interviews with health care professionals.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners Daniel was a manager at HealthInsight, where he oversaw the strategy and implementation of recruitment and technical assistance efforts across all projects and initiatives for physician offices. He also built physician office capacity for continuous quality improvement and transformation, and developed a new fee-for-service business line in HIPAA security.

Daniel received a master’s degree in business administration, a master’s degree in healthcare administration, and a bachelor’s degree in business management all from the University of Utah.

Jordana Choucair

Senior Director of Communications and Strategic Planning

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Jordana Choucair is the senior director of communications and strategic planning. In this role, Jordana oversees firm-wide initiatives, negotiates and manages contracts and proposals for speeches among Leavitt Partners executives, directs corporate communications, and serves as the primary contact/liaison on media requests.

Before joining Leavitt Partners, Jordana served as staff assistant for the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In this role, she advised and guided officials reporting to the Secretary in the development of briefing materials. She also developed internal communication strategies to facilitate the briefing process and managed the Secretary’s daily schedule. Jordana also served as an analyst in the Office of Budget at HHS, where she prepared and tracked congressional action on all Office of the Secretary Staff Division submissions for the President’s Budget. She later served as the lead program analyst for Division B Medicaid Provisions, Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, and Administration on Aging Nutrition Programs. Prior to her government service, Jordana was an analyst at the National Business Group on Health.

Jordana received her master’s in public health with an emphasis in management and policy from the University of Arizona and a bachelor’s degree in community health from Brigham Young University.

Andrew Clark

Principal of Leavitt Equity Partners

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Andrew Clark is a founding principal of Leavitt Equity Partners and is based in Salt Lake City. Andrew is also senior director of the Equity Practice at Leavitt Partners, a position he has held since 2010 where he has spent his time working with private equity and other financial clients on due diligence, deal sourcing, and deal research in health care and related markets.

Additionally, Andrew has been instrumental in establishing and managing a portfolio of close to a dozen strategic partnerships in health care where Leavitt Partners has an equity position (including Health Equity, Independent Living Systems, Health Integrated, Curza Global, ReposiTrak, ProLung, and others). In 2014 he co-led the effort to establish Leavitt Equity Partners and successfully raised its first fund.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Andrew was a consultant for Investor Group Services LLC in Boston, Massachusetts, a former subsidiary of Ernst & Young in the Transaction Advisory Services group. There he provided M&A, transaction advisory, and due diligence services for a variety of investors, including corporate M&A teams, private equity funds, and their portfolio companies. Before his time at Investor Group Services, Andrew was a financial analyst at Zions Bancorporation, working directly under CEO Harris Simmons. In this role he provided analytical support to several areas of the bank, including corporate finance, human resources, consumer banking, and real estate.

Andrew earned his MBA from the Harvard Business School, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard College, where he was a member of the winning 2001 Ivy League Championship football team.

Jennifer Colamonico

Senior Director

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Jennifer spent nearly 12 years at Nielsen Healthcare (formerly Harris Interactive) as a senior business consultant, team manager, and subject matter expert providing market research and insights to health care businesses. Jennifer Jen specifically chaired a research and consulting service forecasting U.S. health care trends and guided research design and analysis for clients across the health care spectrum. She also previously was a senior research at Fairbank, Maslin, Metz & Associates where she wrote and analyzed surveys to inform strategy for political and public affairs campaigns.

Jacqueline Critchlow

Administrative Coordinator

Jacqueline Critchlow is an administrative coordinator based in Salt Lake City. In this role, Jacqueline supports the operations and communications of Health Intelligence Partners (HIP) and the Accountable Care Learning Collaborative (ACLC), which brings ACO leaders together to advance the transition to value-based care.

Kate de Lisle

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Kate de Lisle is a senior analyst based in Salt Lake City. As an analyst, Kate contributes intelligence on the accountable care movement through primary and secondary research, nationally tracking and monitoring ACOs and the transition to value-based care more broadly. Building and managing relationships with ACO leadership across the U.S., Kate combines qualitative insights from frontline leaders with market and state level analysis to better understand the evolution of health care.

Michael Deily

Expertise

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Michael was a health care consultant working with the Utah Department of Health. He was engaged on a variety of special projects, including the redesign of the Medicaid Management Information System, various projects relating to seniors and people with disabilities, and a state/local government initiative to redesign Utah’s approach to delivering public mental health services.

Michael was the director of the Division of Health Care Financing, Utah’s State Medicaid Agency, from April 1995 to December 2005. In that capacity, Michael was responsible for administering most aspects of the state’s Medicaid program, including budget, eligibility policy and operations, coverage and reimbursement policies, managed care programs, and information systems. In the last two years of his tenure, he was also charged with administrating the Utah’s Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Primary Care Network 1115 Waiver.

Michael was a member of the National Association of State Medicaid Directors’ (NASMD) Executive Committee from 1997 until December 2005. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of New Orleans.

Kerstin Edwards

Expertise

Kerstin Edwards is a survey specialist based in Salt Lake City. In this role, Kerstin supports client relationships and multiple team members, interprets research and data findings for a variety of clients, and manages client projects.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Kerstin worked for the LDS Church analyzing and evaluating existing business policies and procedures related to statistical records in order to identify opportunities for improvement, recommend solutions, and coordinate implementation efforts with key stakeholders. Kerstin also spent nine years at the U.S. Census Bureau, where she oversaw data review and analysis for a component of a large-scale national economic survey and supported executive-level staff in all facets of administration including strategic planning, personnel management, performance monitoring and reporting, and budget formulation and execution.

Kerstin has a bachelor’s degree in statistics from Brigham Young University and is expected to receive a master’s degree in public administration from Brigham Young University in June 2017.

Terry Ely

Associate

Terry Ely is an associate based in Washington, D.C. As an associate, Terry performs a range of research-related functions and supports clients in a wide range of initiatives regarding health care strategy, market research, and data analysis.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Terry was a management fellow with Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) where she completed a series of rotations with various CTCA medical centers. During her time at Southwestern Regional Medical Center, she managed the application process for CMS CMMI Oncology Care Model grant and combined field intelligence and conducted research on reimbursement rates as a percentage of Medicare. She later collected data on oncology-specific ACOs and authored recommendations on three CMMI initiatives as a fellow at Leavitt Partners.

Terry received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Notre Dame.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Kevin was a research assistant at Northwestern Social Cognition Laboratory. In this role Kevin performed preliminary data tests and used software to provide initial reports for lab managers. He also designed and executed procedures, recorded promising findings, and summarized findings in a cohesive research report for the lab to build upon.

Kevin has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Northwestern University. While at Northwestern, Kevin developed strong organizational and leadership skills as an executive board member for the Evans Scholars Foundation.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Andrew interned as an analyst for an options trading group at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange where he ran market reports, verified trades, and relayed market information between traders and clients. He also worked as an Assistant Sales Manager for Vivint Smart Home Solutions during his time in school.

Andrew earned a bachelor’s degree in finance with a minor in economics from Utah State University.

Heidi Furness

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Heidi started her career as an assistant camp director in Hawaii where she helped YMCA Camp Erdman achieve its best fiscal years in its history. She also facilitated leadership training for corporations and nonprofits.

While serving as human resources manager at a retail company in Jackson, Wyoming, she reduced payroll by 25 percent in her first six months and was consequently promoted to lead business operations.

Heidi earned a master’s of public administration at Brigham Young University. At BYU, she created a program evaluation for Special Olympics currently executed in twelve countries. She was also a Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) Finalist.

Paul Gardner

Expertise

Paul Gardner is a project manager based in Salt Lake City. As a project manager, Paul leads a team of analysts in primary and secondary research efforts focused on the accountable care movement and other innovative payment delivery models. He also manages and provides subject matter expertise on projects that provide clients with strategic guidance on how to respond to the changing health care landscape.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Paul worked in a variety of diverse health care settings. At the Huntsman Cancer Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, Paul developed reporting tools and processes to effectively measure patient satisfaction, provider performance, and resource allocation. As a project manager for the HIT vendor Epic, Paul managed the implementation process of the inpatient pharmacy application. Paul also has experience leading multiple public health and clinical quality improvement efforts as part of a small nonprofit organization.

Paul earned both a master’s of health care administration and a master’s of business administration from the University of Utah and has a bachelor’s of public health from Brigham Young University.

Previously, Ben interned at MicroBenefits China, a startup microfinance company based out of SuZhou, China. In this role, Mr. Gong provided financial modeling and analysis on the two major revenue streams. He worked in a full-immersion Chinese environment and developed his experience in social innovation.

Ben received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Brigham Young University (BYU). While at BYU, Ben was heavily involved in the Social Innovation Leadership Council, and spoke at TEDxBYU his senior year on poverty alleviation.

Matt Graham

Expertise

Matt Graham is a senior director based in Salt Lake City. He is responsible for evaluating the Salt Lake office staff’s capacity and deployment across client engagements. Matt oversees a team of managers and analysts, and assists in the development of project plans and management processes. He has over a decade of project and client management experience, in both the public and private sectors. He has a background in tracking and evaluating the evolving capabilities and business models of exchange technology vendors and the platforms they support. Matt has led primary research efforts exploring and writing about various health insurance topics, including payer and broker employer engagement strategies in an ACA context; payer sales cycles and compliance documentation processes; and health plan, employer, and broker sentiment regarding health insurance exchange adoption.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Matt served as vice president of business development for Gaiacor Management, a privately held international agricultural management company. In this capacity, he identified, developed and presented new business opportunities to management, investors, and foreign government officials. Before Gaiacor Management, he was chief financial officer for Sweetwater International, and was responsible for all financial aspects of the establishment and operation of a $34 million farming operation overseas. Prior to Sweetwater, Graham served as a regional manager for the Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX), the global clearinghouse for microfinance data, analytics and performance information.

Matt holds a master’s degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and a bachelor’s in Spanish from the University of Utah.

Hilda Henriquez

Manager

Hilda Henriquez is a manager based in Salt Lake City. In this role, Hilda supports the vice president of finance and operations by managing multiple different areas ranging from accounts payable and receivable to higher level financial functions and internal operations.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Hilda worked as an assistant project manager for Checchi Consulting/USAID in El Salvador where she coordinated closely with high government officials and other key stakeholders to assess, project, and organize project outlay and timelines. This position also required Hilda to collaborate with various consultants in the reengineering of organizational structures and processes within local government institutions, perform financial related duties, and analyze KPIs and other qualitative data in order to measure project success.

Hilda received her MBA from IE Business School (Madrid, Spain) and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Westminster College.

Douglas began his career practicing law in Washington, D.C., defending a number of large medical device, pharma, and hospital organizations. During 2010 and 2011 he worked for innovation expert Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen on ACO expansion and collaborated with a number of health care and technology startups. He has also worked as a director at The Beacon Group where he specialized in market entry strategy, competitive analysis, and the commercialization of new technologies. Douglas has assisted a number of leading Fortune 500 medical device and pharmaceutical companies.

Douglas earned his bachelor’s degree in international relations at Brigham Young University, after which he earned his juris doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. Douglas also holds an MBA from Brigham Young University, where he was a Hawes Scholar.

Lydia Hillstead

Legal Specialist

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Lydia Hillstead is a legal specialist at Leavitt Partners. She is based in Washington, D.C., where she assists with daily operations and client relationships, specifically through managing the preparation, processing, and tracking of contracts across the firm.

Jenna Jackson

Expertise

Jenna Jackson is a policy research analyst based in Salt Lake City. In this role, Jenna conducts thorough research on healthcare legislation, and regulatory issues, prepares briefs and reports, and supports overall team goals.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Jenna was a legislative intern with the U.S. Agency for International Development. As an intern, Jenna conducted extensive legislative research, briefed staff members on findings, and produced weekly reports detailing agency activities.

Jenna has a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Brigham Young University.

Brent Jenson

HR Manager

Brent Jenson is a HR manager based in Salt Lake City. In this role, Brent manages all human resource functions, including hiring, onboarding, benefits, and supporting and implementing new company procedures.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Brent served as the director of administration for a small nonprofit where he oversaw all human resource duties, managed accounting, and ensured the mission and strategic goals of the foundation were executed.

Brent has a bachelor of arts in human resource management and a bachelor of science in economics from Utah State University.

Charlie Johnson

Expertise

Charlie left the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where he served as acting secretary of the department. This followed his five years of service under the Bush Administration at HHS where he served as Assistant Secretary for Resources and Technology/Chief Financial Officer beginning in 2005. He served as acting secretary until June 2009 during the transition from the Bush to the Obama Administration. He previously served in an appointed position as chief financial officer of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Prior to his time in the federal government, Charlie was president of Huntsman Cancer Foundation and vice president of Huntsman LLC. He also served as a member of the Utah State Board of Regents, which oversees all public institutions of higher education in the state of Utah. He served as chair of the Board of Regents for more than four years. Mr. Johnson was vice chairman of the Board for Strategic Direction with the Garff-Warner Organization and was the chief of staff to the governor of the state of Utah from 1992 to 1997. Charlie also served as director of the 2000 re-election campaign for Governor Mike Leavitt.

Charlie graduated with honors from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He spent 31 years in the practice of public accounting, including service on the board of directors of KPMG and as chairman of its Merger Transition Committee.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Eric gained over five years of experience with Intermountain Healthcare. Most recently, he was the Clinical Research Projects Team Lead at the Intermountain Healthcare Research Biorepository. In this role, he served as a subject matter expert for research initiatives and managed projects from intake through completion, including working with the clients throughout the process and reporting results.

Eric received both a master’s of public health and a master’s of public policy from the University of Utah and a bachelor’s degree in exercise & sport science from the University of Utah.

Alex Knight

Expertise

Alex Knight is a data research assistant based in Salt Lake City. In this role, Alex assists in the development and organization of leading-edge intelligence on health insurance markets and corresponding reform provisions.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Erik founded and operated a boutique data analytics consulting firm specializing in survey research and sophisticated statistical and economic modeling for private and public sector clients. There he organized a team of experienced analysts and academics to consult on a variety of data collection and interpretation projects including a state-based economic impact model and evaluation tool for health care reform initiatives.

Erik received his master’s degree in public policy and bachelor’s degree in political science from Brigham Young University.

Chase Leavitt

Revenue Manager

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Chase Leavitt is the revenue manager based in Salt Lake City. In this role, Chase identifies revenue growth opportunities and examines overall performance. Additionally, Chase helps reduce and control operational costs for the firm.

Chase completed his bachelor’s degree in finance at Southern Utah University, and has received his master’s in business administration with an emphasis in health care management from Western Governors University.

David Lee

Manager

David Lee is a manager based in Washington, D.C. David provides policy counsel and analysis to clients on issues related to regulations, legislation, and business implications. His work is focused on issues related to government payers, including Medicare and Medicaid, health care reform and other provider issues.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, David served as director of Regulatory Affairs and Policy for the National Rural Health Association where he directed advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill and with administrative agencies on issues related to rural hospitals, clinics, health centers, and other providers. Before working at NRHA, David served on the staff of Senator Robert F. Bennett.

David received his B.A. at Utah State University in law and constitutional studies while minoring in Spanish. He received his juris doctorate from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C.

Prior to Leavitt Partners, Laura worked for both the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) assisting with quality metric and improvement program development. At both associations, she worked directly with senior leadership teams to execute strategic initiatives around patient-centered care that fostered redesigned safety programs. She also supported the expansion and development of new physician-led business models and task forces at both organizations.

Laura also previously worked for the BlueCross BlueShield Association in Chicago, where she provided strategy support and consulting to Blue Plans across a myriad of subjects, including care delivery innovation, specialty pharmacy, CMS quality-rating programs, and government lines of business.

Laura is a graduate of Northwestern University with a master’s degree in public policy and administration with an emphasis in healthcare economics.

Christopher Loumeau

Manager

Christopher Loumeau is a manager based in Salt Lake City. As a manager, Christopher provides intelligence to Leavitt Partners clients by gathering data and information on the accountable care movement and the changing health care landscape through secondary research, surveys, and interviews with health care professionals. He also manages long-term research projects and works closely with client managers to design, implement, and execute research projects to meet client objectives.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners Christopher was Director of Business Process Improvement and Cancer Programs at Nacogdoches Medical Center. In this position, he led all process improvement initiatives across the facility and integrated disparate parts of cancer program under one roof; allowing for coordinating efforts to maintain CoC accreditation, improve operations, and grow business. He was also responsible for the medical staff office including physician credentialing, privileges, committees, issues, and recruitment.

Christopher received a master’s degree in health care administration from Trinity University and a bachelor’s degree in community health from Utah Valley University.

Kristina Lunner

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Expertise

Kristina Lunner is a senior director based in Washington, D.C. Kristina specializes in medical products and services and she has over 20 years of experience at the state and federal level in government relations and coalition work.

Kristina’s health policy expertise includes pharmacy policy (e.g., the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, medication therapy management, and approaches to medication use in a value-based environment), and health care reform. She has served as vice president of government affairs for the American Pharmacists Association, director of state legislative and regulatory affairs for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, director of public affairs for the Maine Medical Association, and executive director of the Maine Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Kristina holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Maine.

Kenneth Manning

Expertise

Kenneth Manning is a data warehouse specialist based in Salt Lake City. In this role, Kenneth manages the Leavitt Partners master database, regularly organizing and updating the database with newly-created data.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Kenneth was software engineer in the public sector, where he helped develop and maintain a variety of mission critical public safety software. He also previously engineered, coded, deployed, and supported company management systems at a health care consulting and reimbursement company, and associated law firm.

Eric Marshall

Expertise

Eric Marshall is a senior director based in Washington, D.C. Eric advises complex health care coalitions on health policy and provides consulting services to drug and device companies. Eric is an industry specialist in the areas of domestic and international supply chain security; drug, device, and diagnostics regulation; and health care compliance.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Eric was an associate with the law firm Faegre Baker Daniels, counseling health care and life science clients on regulatory, compliance, and transactional matters. Eric also has experience as counsel to self-funded Taft-Hartley health and welfare funds, particularly with regard to requirements of the Affordable Care Act.

Eric graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Minnesota Law School and has a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance from the University of Northern Iowa.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Shawn developed Utah’s largest medical group for home and long-term care facility doctor visits. Shawn was instrumental in creating a post-acute care network of collaborations and contracts between hospitals, managed plans, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and hospices.

Previously, Shawn served as Associate Director at the University of Utah School of Medicine, where he oversaw the Family Medicine and Physician Assistant Divisions and two primary care clinics. Shawn is a licensed nursing home administrator (LNHA), having practiced in California and Utah.

Shawn has an MBA and is a Fellow of the American College of Health Care Administrators (FACHCA).

Alissa McCaffrey

Associate

Alissa McCaffrey is an associate based in Washington, D.C., where she provides primary and secondary policy research and analysis to individual clients and health care coalitions. Alissa’s work is focused on issues related to health care reform, the transition to value-based payments, and supply chain security.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Alissa was a summer associate at Jeffrey J. Kimbell & Associates where she provided strategic health policy analysis and regulatory support to life science industry clients. She also worked at the Connecticut State Senate where she conducted public health research for state policy makers.

Alissa received her B.S. in biology and history from St. Lawrence University and her master of public health, with a concentration in health policy, from Yale School of Public Health.

Tom Merrill

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Expertise

Tom Merrill is the ACO research manager and is based in Salt Lake City. He serves as the lead primary researcher on the firm’s team dedicated to understanding all trends and developments relative to the accountable care movement. His responsibilities include managing research relationships with ACO leadership from across the U.S. and combining the qualitative insights from frontline leaders with market and state level analysis to better understand the evolution of health care in the U.S. Tom also serves as the research manager for the Accountable Care Learning Collaborative (ACLC) which brings ACO leaders together to advance the transition to value-based care.

Joshua Monson

Software Engineer

Joshua Monson is a software engineer based in Salt Lake City. In this role, Joshua designs, builds, and manages specific web applications. He is also responsible for designing a seamless user experience that ties together multiple platforms, languages, and varied user privileges into a user-friendly, secure, and scalable enterprise web platform.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Joshua was a software engineer, where he created new microservices for the product platform while maintaining legacy code bases and managed projects through planning, implementation, and user acceptance testing. He also previously assisted the development of the business plan and architected and built the infrastructure consisting of a social network with geospatial data for a start-up.

Joshua has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Brigham Young University and a master’s in computer science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Elisa Montgomery

Analyst

Elisa Montgomery is an analyst based in Salt Lake City. As an analyst, Elisa works with our research and development team to track public and private health care exchanges and provides state profiling intelligence to clients.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Elisa analyzed and compiled evidence-based research into written reports as an intern with the Utah Department of Health Cancer Control Program. She also developed a survey to determine the top health issues regarding mothers and children for the Utah Department of Health Maternal and Child Health.

Elisa has a bachelor’s degree in health promotion and education and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Utah.

Bill Morey

IT specialist

Bill Morey is an IT specialist based in Salt Lake City. In this role, Bill is responsible for the oversight and operations of Leavitt Partners’ IT projects and works with management to achieve strategic IT objectives and projects. He also serves as the systems integrator across the firms IT infrastructure.

Bill has a background in business systems and integration. Most recently he was a senior integration consultant and helped clients to analyze, design, and integrate key systems using multiple data formats across various platforms. He also estimated resources and schedules for development, and performing development activities, coding, testing, user acceptance, implementation, documentation and training. In 2007, Bill was the Financial EDI Subject Matter Expert for the Utah Health Information Network while employed at Intermountain Healthcare.

Spencer Morrison

Senior Analyst

Spencer Morrison is an analyst based in Salt Lake City. As an analyst, Spencer works with the research and development team to provide strategic intelligence on the accountable care movement for clients as well as contributing to internal research and managing data resources.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Spencer gained experience with data management as part of the statistical team for a University of Utah think tank and as a member of the Utah Community Research Group, where he provided market research and data analytics to local nonprofit organizations in Utah.

Spencer is currently finishing his master’s degree in statistics at the University of Utah. He graduated cum laude with his HBA in economics from the University of Utah.

Sean Mullin

Senior Director

Sean Mullin is a senior director based in Chicago. He assists clients with target customer and market analysis, value proposition refinement, and market positioning strategies. He also develops long-term projections for shifts in commercial lines of business based on pending regulatory changes and competitor market dynamics, with deep experience in the small and large group business.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Sean spent nearly 11 years at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA). Most recently, Sean was a managing director of strategic consulting services and policy strategy at BCBSA. In this role, Sean oversaw the strategic consulting services practice and also led several BCBSA system-level strategy projects focused on emerging trends post the advent of the Affordable Care Act in the health insurance industry and is the primary liaison between the office of policy in Washington, D.C., and the Strategy Group in Chicago. He has over 10 years of experience in the areas of brand strategy, competitive intelligence, and emerging markets at BCBSA and gained additional strategic growth experience as an analyst for ChapterHouse.

Sean received his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan.

Preston Naegle

Connect

Expertise

Preston is an analyst based in Salt Lake City. In this role, Preston works directly with the company’s private equity fund and other equity holdings. Preston supports the private equity fund by performing diligence on prospective transactions and providing analysis for portfolio companies.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Preston was an intern with the Berkeley Research Group where he developed a financial model to assist in the calculation of intellectual property damages. As a market research analyst with Innovation & Commercialization Services at Utah State University, he researched potential commercial opportunities for university technologies and created a financial model for a university-sponsored venture.

Preston received his bachelor’s degree in accounting, economics, and finance from Utah State University.

Bo began his career at Intermountain Healthcare and later at the University of Utah Hospitals & Clinics. At both health systems, he worked directly with senior management executing top administrative initiatives. Particularly at Intermountain Healthcare, Bo successfully led several innovative business and operations projects, leading to significant cost savings and improved administrative efficiency. Prior to health care, Bo worked for The Stephen R. Covey Group implementing Dr. Covey’s work at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University.

Bo was the student body president at the Yale School of Public Health where he received a graduate degree in health care management.

Rebecca Nielsen

Senior Advisor

Rebecca Edwards Nielsen is a senior advisor and is responsible for client activity in the greater Twin Cities area. She aids clients in strategic planning, assessing new markets, and identifying opportunities for product expansion. Her research interests include value-based payment readiness and specialty drug trend management.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Rebecca held a variety of positions within UnitedHealth Group, including senior director of Specialty Analytics and Management Products at Ingenix, program officer at Optum, and director of business development at Ingenix.

Rebecca holds a bachelor of arts degree in history and literature from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Brent Palmer

Senior Analyst

Brent Palmer is a senior analyst based in Salt Lake City. As a senior analyst, Brent conducts primary research on aspects of national health policy specifically related to health care delivery transformation through the accountable care movement and the transition to value-based care. Working with both Leavitt Partners and the Accountable Care Learning Collaborative (ACLC), Brent combines insights from senior executives with market and state-level analysis in an effort to understand and illustrate the evolution of health care in the U.S.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Brent was employed at leading health systems across the country, including Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, Utah and Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Most recently, he served as an administrative resident at Bon Secours Health System in Richmond, Virginia where he was focused on the strategic growth of ambulatory services across the state.

Brent is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with a master’s degree in health administration.

John Poelman

Connect

Expertise

John Poelman is a senior director based in Salt Lake City. As a senior director, John informs clients on the shifting health care landscape with expertise in accountable care and in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act with the corresponding political dynamics.

John also serves as the executive director of the Accountable Care Learning Collaborative, an organization housed at Western Governors University with a mission to accelerate the accountable care movement and provide members with actionable intelligence on delivery system reform.

Previously to joining the firm, John served as a health policy analyst at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). John earned a master’s degree in public health with an emphasis in health policy from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah.

Anne Marie Polak

Expertise

Anne Marie Polak is a senior director based in Washington, D.C. In her role, Anne Marie provides policy counsel and analysis to clients with matters involving regulations, legislation, and business implications.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Anne Marie was a vice president for Faegre BD Consulting in the firm’s health and biosciences group. She also spent five years with the Podesta Group in Washington, D.C., while completing her law degree in the evenings at the George Mason University School of Law, graduating cum laude in 2010. Anne Marie also worked in the government and legal affairs office of Novo Nordisk in Washington, D.C., and as a congressional aide to Rep. Michael Ferguson of New Jersey.

In 2004, Anne Marie served as a policy research assistant on the Bush-Cheney campaign after graduating, with distinction, from the University of Virginia. Anne Marie also was an assistant to the chief of staff for House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX-26).

Anne Marie received her law degree from the George Mason University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Virginia.

Melissa Porter

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Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Melissa worked for the Association of American Medical Colleges supporting member hospitals in their implementation of CMS’ Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative. Melissa also worked with the senior management team at Malcolm Baldrige Award-Winning Poudre Valley System (now part of University of Colorado Health), as their Administrative Fellow. After her fellowship, she continued on with University of Colorado Health working to build their rapidly growing multi-specialty medical group.

Melissa earned a master’s of public administration with an emphasis in health care from Brigham Young University.

Mark Roberts

Executive Assistant

Mark Roberts is the executive assistant to Vince Ventimiglia and supports overall office management functions in Washington, D.C. Mark is an experienced administrative professional with relevant Capitol Hill and law firm experience. Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, he was a scheduler and executive assistant for a congresswoman in Washington, D.C., and also served as an office manager and a legal assistant in a California-based law firm.

Dan Schuyler

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Expertise

Dan Schuyler is the senior director of exchange technology based in Salt Lake City. In his role, he helps guide the firm’s public and private health insurance exchange practice. He brings to the firm applied experience in the development and implementation of health insurance exchanges.

Prior to his work with Leavitt Partners, Dan was the director of technology for Utah’s small group health insurance exchange (Avenue H), where he was responsible for defining the technical goals and business processes associated with the exchange. Utah’s exchange was only the second of its kind in the United States when created in 2009. The exchange allows residents and business owners to shop, compare, and buy health insurance plans online.

Prior to his post with the Utah Health Insurance Exchange, Dan was the manager for the Department of Environmental Quality, National Environmental Information Exchange Network. While serving in this role, Dan helped bring the state of Utah from the bottom third in environmental exchanges to the top 10 percent in less than one year.

Dan holds numerous IT certifications as well as a degree from Lewis University.

Suzanne Severe

With a background in office management and customer service, Suzanne brings both professionalism and organization to Leavitt Partners. Ms. Severe also has a strong commitment to community service and has chaired fundraising events for several years. In 2009, she received the Jon M. Huntsman Sr. Award for Excellence in Education (HAEE) for the state of Utah as volunteer of the year.

Suzanne received an associate of arts and sciences in music and communications from Ricks College.

Sarah Signore

HR Coordinator

Sarah Signore is the Leavitt Partners HR Coordinator and works in our Salt Lake City office. In this role, Sarah assists the HR manager with talent acquisition, onboarding new employees, benefits administration, HRIS management, compliance, and other HR related responsibilities and projects.

Kambria Smith

Administrative Coordinator

Kambria Smith is an administrative coordinator based in Salt Lake City. In this role, Kambria supports the operations and communications of the Accountable Care Learning Collaborative (ACLC), which brings ACO leaders together to advance the transition to value-based care.

Nathan Smith

Expertise

Nathan Smith is a senior analyst based in Salt Lake City. As a senior analyst, Nathan works directly with the research and development team managing data-related client work and internal research tasks.

Nathan has a strong background in data management and statistical analysis. While completing his Ph.D. at BYU, Nathan worked as a statistical consultant for students and faculty providing methodological guidance, data management, and statistical support for original research. Simultaneously, he was also a data analyst at Imagine Learning where he prepared and analyzed customer data for senior management to assist customers and sales associates understanding students’ learning trends.

Nathan received a B.S. from Utah State University, a master’s degree in human development from Auburn University, and a Ph.D. in human development from BYU.

Joshua Sterner

Finance & Operations Manager

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Joshua Sterner is a finance and operations manager based in Salt Lake City. In this role, Joshua directly supports the CFO and COO in overseeing the financial and administrative operations of the company, including financial and accounting policies and procedures, systems implementation and administration, operational expense monitoring, facilities management, and general project management.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Joshua was the assistant controller with Park City Group, Inc. where he managed all day-to-day accounting process and external relationships with various accounting consultants, auditors and bankers. Joshua also led third-party implementation projects while working with consultants and other departments from project inception to successful completion.

Joshua received his MBA from Westminster College and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Utah.

Laura Summers

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Expertise

Laura Summers is the senior director of state intelligence based in Salt Lake City. Laura has expertise in economics, health care, and public policy. Her professional experience includes research for the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

In health care, Laura’s research focus has been state-level health reform, with a particular focus in Medicaid and health insurance exchanges. At Leavitt Partners, Laura prepares detailed analyses of state-by-state comparative data, researches state public health programs, policies, and trends, and works on state health care reform initiatives. Specifically, Laura has provided project management and research support for the Leavitt Partners teams responsible for assisting states design and develop state-based health insurance exchanges, 1115 Medicaid demonstration waivers and amendments, and other state health reforms.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Laura worked as research director for Utah Foundation – a well respected research firm that publishes reports on issues affecting state and local government policies.

Laura received her master of public policy with an emphasis in public economics from Brigham Young University and her bachelor’s degree in economics from Westminster College.

Christian Taylor

Business Analyst

Christian is a business analyst based in Salt Lake City. In this role, Christian supports the business development strategy and growth team by generating operating and forecast models and performing diligence on current and potential business plans, projects, and proposals. He also assists the company’s private equity fund by performing due diligence on deal flow.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Christian interned at Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he analyzed and assisted in team investment projects spanning equities, fixed income, and market analyses projects. As an intern with Sorenson Capital Partners, he led research and analysis of the company’s strategic sourcing initiative to increase proprietary deal flow.

Christian received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Brigham Young University.

Josh Taylor

Senior Associate

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Josh Taylor is an analyst at Leavitt Equity Partners, where he works directly with the company’s private equity fund and other equity holdings, and is based in Salt Lake City. Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Josh worked as an investment analyst for Ensign Peak Advisors. There he performed diligence on various financial securities as a generalist with a broad focus in the energy, information technology, and industrial sectors.

Josh is a graduate of Brigham Young University where he studied finance. While attending BYU, Josh interned for American Express, where he collaborated with the finance department to determine the impact of company programs and projects on P&L. Prior to attending BYU, Josh attended Utah State University and was a member of the basketball team. He has passed all three CFA exams.

Brian Thompson

Expertise

Brian Thompson is a data warehouse specialist based in Salt Lake City. In this role, Brian manages the Leavitt Partners master database, architecting data models and engineering processes to extract, transform, and load data, and keep it up to date.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Brian engineered processes for an enterprise data warehouse, modeling and maintaining the data warehouse by utilizing numerous methodologies. He also previously managed the development and delivery of all enterprise analytics, and extracted insights from large data sets to provide ad-hoc analysis while setting best practices to accurately analyze data.

Brian has a bachelor’s degree in analytical philosophy and a bachelor’s degree in political science, both from the University of Utah, and is an alumni of the Kimball University data modeling program from the Kimball Group.

Kathryn Toone

Expertise

Kathryn Toone is a specialist based in Salt Lake City. Kathryn has spent the past several years supporting clients through understanding and resolving tough economic challenges for providers and monitoring trends in health care reform initiatives.

Tianna Tu

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Expertise

Tianna Tu is an analyst based in Salt Lake City. As an analyst, Tianna contributes to leading-edge intelligence on the accountable care movement through primary and secondary research, including nationally tracking and monitoring ACOs, and the transition to value-based care more broadly.

Tianna has worked on public policy issues in various settings, including conducting public health fieldwork in Punjab, India. She is a graduate of the University of Utah, where she studied both political science and international affairs, with a research emphasis in global health. She is a 2014 Truman Scholar and a 2016 Rhodes Scholar Finalist.

Jon began his career in health care as a project manager with the American College of Physicians. Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Jon worked on regulatory strategy for a Chicago-based provider that coordinates care for high-risk, high-cost Medicare recipients.

While in law school at Tulane University, Jon worked for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) enforcement division where he assisted on cases interpreting federal and industry securities regulation. Following law school, Jon completed a judicial clerkship. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond where he was also a member of the men’s crew team.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Rachel was a Global Government Affairs Senior Specialist at Underwriters Laboratories (UL), where she advised business units on the policy landscape and policy implications of proposed new businesses and developed and managed public policy positions and advocacy campaigns. She also previously was a Federal Human Capital Consultant at Deloitte where she served federal government clients and critically analyzed provisions and requirements of ACA policy to ensure the achievement of policy mandates.

Rachel earned both a master’s degree in public policy and a bachelor’s degree in communications, law, economics, and government from American University.

Chrisanne Wilks

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Expertise

Chrisanne (Chris) Wilks is a health services research specialist based out of the Salt Lake City office. In this role, Chris assists the research department by conducting quantitative research evaluating various components of the American health care system for government agencies, policymakers and industry participants.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners Chris conducted five original quantitative and qualitative research projects and service evaluations to inform state agency policies as a graduate research specialist and associate. She also has over seven years of program management and policy experience in the public and private sector.

Chris received a Ph.D. in health services management and policy from The Ohio State University, a master’s degree in health policy and management from New York University, and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Yale University.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Lia gained eight years of research experience with the University of California Institutions. As a doctoral fellow, Lia conducted historical research, analyzed primary and secondary source documents, conducted and transcribed interviews, and synthesized her findings into a multi-chapter dissertation. She was also the recipient of the Bilinski Educational Foundation Fellowship, a competitive $50,000 two-year dissertation award. Most recently, Lia was an evaluator for Western Governors University where she provided timely and robust feedback on student submissions and helped write evaluator notes for the team.

Lia earned a PhD in history from the University of California-Davis and a BA in history from the University of California-Santa Cruz.

Clare Wrobel

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Expertise

Clare Wrobel is the director of payment reform models for the Health Care Transformation Task Force and is based in Washington, D.C. As a director, Clare provides subject matter expertise in the evolving world of alternate payment models (APMs) and value-based care arrangements.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Clare was the Director of Population Health Solutions at Myers and Stauffer LC. In this position, she assisted clients in the implementation of alternative payment models and interpretation of federal policies such as MACRA, state innovation waivers, and Medicaid health IT funding to support health care transformation. She also has almost five years of experience at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation where she led the State Innovation Models Initiative.

Clare has a bachelor’s in psychology and a master in health services administration from the University of Michigan, and currently holds an adjunct faculty appointment at the George Washington University Milken School of Public Health.